Interesting times ahead

Looks like 2012 will be quite the year for the large sensor mirrorless cameras. While we are still waiting for Nikon and Canon to join the frenzy (and no, the Nikon 1 doesn't count, nor does the G1X as nice a camera as it appears), I see at least 4 exciting cameras on the horizon.

Anybody who pays the least bit of attention to digital cameras has by now heard of the Fui X-Pro 1. After the X100 became a hit for Fuji (who opted to go a more creative digital route than Kodak which appears to have paid off), everyone was clamoring for an interchangeable lens version of it. Well, here it is; a similarly styled camera with an even better sensor, and a set of nice prime lenses to go with it. The downside? Price. It was initially rumored to land around 1300EUR including the 35/1.4 ("normal"), and though we are still waiting for a final, final price, it appears we are now looking at some 2200EUR for this setup. While still a moderate price compared to the Leica M9 I feel they will be losing quite a few sales at this price point. Hopefully we will see it below the 1500EUR mark including lens sometime this year.

The Sony NEX-7 is not really new for 2012, but courtesy of production issues it is still not generally available. With its apparently excellent 24MP sensor and high res EVF this looks like a great platform for the great lenses that Sony somehow have forgotten to create for it. Sure, we have the 24/1.8 Zeiss which appears to be a solid piece of glass, but a single high quality prime does not a system make. With the pricing on the NEX-7 they are clearly not shooting for the point-and-shoot upgraders, and the serious enthusiasts are going to want some great glass to go with that great body. Of course there is the option to adapt all sorts of third party lenses, but without at least a 35,50,85 equivalent native fast prime setup I am staying away from this camera...for now.

Ricoh GXR is not new either, but being a modular system it is pretty hard to define what constitutes a "GXR camera". What is rumored to happen this year is the replacement of the A12 M mount module (though it was newly released) with a 16MP Sony sensor based AA-less M mount module. Considering how well Leica glass performs on the NEX-5N which has this sensor (though with an AA filter) the output from the alleged A16 M mount module should be nothing short of spectacular. Coupled with the excellent focusing aids and generally photographer-oriented interface this can be a real winner. Price? It ain't cheap, but might just be worth it. Once the new module hits the market we will see.

Finally, we have what just might be the most exciting camera of the bunch: The Olympus "OM" digital. At this point a few leaked pictures of it and a pile of rumors as far as specifications is all we have to go on, but if the real thing is anywhere near what the rumors point to we might get one hell of a nice camera from the guys at Olympus. 16MP sensor, built in EVF, weather sealed body, upgrades image stabilizer and more; all this for a rumored 1100EUR or so with a kit lens. I will admit that I was not much of a m4/3 fan, but looking closer at the system I see that they have an excellent lens lineup, some very good cameras, and the output appears to suffice for my needs. Carl Weese wrote an excellent article on TOP which convinced me of m4/3's viability for my shooting. "OM-D" and a 25/1.4? Well, that just might be the ticket.

So, 2012 is clearly the year of the serious mirrorless. We will see what else comes along. Good times!

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First scans with V700

Mamiya 645E, 80/2.8, Ultra 50
Working on scanning in all my negs with the V700.

So far medium format looks flat out excellent; I would not hesitate to make a 16x20 or larger from anything. 35mm does not look quite as good, but I am unsure as to whether it is due to the less-than-stellar gear I used to shoot with, or a lack of resolving power on the V700.


Crop of frame:


Acceptable or not? It makes a decent 8x10 but would not push it further.
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Framed

Canon 50D, 300/4, 1.4x
I usually don't like the "frame within a frame" approach, but sometimes it does the trick.

These Cormorants were hanging out on one of those big power line towers (the ones Ken Rockwell swears give you cancer) when I drove by this morning. Came back later--this time with camera--and a few were left.


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Picking up a few Zuikos

Some months back, I decided to try some "alt glass" on my 1Ds II. There were some M42 (screwmount) lenses I was fairly curious about, so ordered a Fotodiox adapter. Noticed they had an OM adapter as well, and figured it wouldn't hurt to at least try it, since I had an old 50/1.8 Zuiko sitting around. Well, the M42 glass didn't knock my socks off, but the little cheap Zuiko did.


Canon 1Ds Mark II, Zuiko 50/1.8 wide open

Didn't expect quite such sharpness, especially at f/1.8, from a tiny, very inexpensive piece of glass like this.

I did some more shooting with it, and continued to be surprised at how nicely it
renders, and how crisp the images were. Again, wide open (and check out the smooth bokeh).




Going through yet another gear reshuffle, I decided to part with the M42 glass and "standardize" on OM/Zuiko as my non-Canon, adapted glass. Did a little reading and based on my focal length needs and what I saw, found three lenses that I wanted to try out. A trip to ebay yielded a sample of each: 50/1.4, 28/3.5, 24/2.8 -- I would love to get my hands on the 85/2 but the Canon 85/1.8 is such a spectacular lens that I can't justify spending the $300 or so that the Zuiko runs.

The 50/1.4 arrived first, and I was eager to compare it to the 50/1.8. Alas, an unpleasant surprise awaited me when I opened the box.




It appears that a piece of light sealing material has come loose--likely from a deteriorating seal of some sort--and was moving around between two lens elements. In addition to that, the aperture blades moved at the speed of glaciers; this wouldn't be the end of the world since I am using stop down metering, but certainly was far from what I expected based on the description in the auction. Thankfully the seller is offering a 7 day return policy, so back it goes. I did try a few shots since shaking the lens a bit would move the thing out of sight temporarily, and found the lens to be very soft and low contrast, definitely far inferior to the hunble 50/1.8. I gather that later 50/1.4 lenses are far improved, supposedly those with a serial number in the 1.1 million or higher range. I might try to locate one of those later on.

A few hours later, UPS dropped a 24/2.8 on my doorstep. This one I was a little worried about when I bid on it since it was described as feeling a little "looser" than the seller's other lenses. For the price it was worth a gamble, I though, and was pleasantly surprised to find that whatever slop was in the focusing mechanism was so minor as to not affect anything at all. The lens came with the case and original metal hood (which I believe is the same as on the 28mm Zuikos), and the optics are in like-new condition. And like the 50/1.8, it's wonderfully sharp. The below shots wide open.







It is worth noting that the lens focuses down to 0.25 meters which gives you a lot of flexibility; not a true macro by any means, but close enough to get some interesting shots. The bokeh is a little "busier" than my Canon lenses, but not unpleasantly so. The sharpness does not come as a great surprise after I'd read this lens test which put it up against some top level Canon and Nikon glass, where it held its own admirably.

My 28/3.5 just arrived as I was typing up this post, so will post some images from it later. It appears to be in excellent shape, and for the money it should be quite the bargain. Yes, it's a little on the slow side, but where else would you find a decent performer in this focal length for the $30-40 they usually cost? Check out the Zuiko 28/3.5 love thread on FM for some really nice shots from these lenses.

One thing worth mentioning is that these lenses all use 49mm filters; if you are a frequent filter user (I am not) this might be a bonus.

As I spend some more time with these lenses, I will share some more images and impressions. For now, I think that they are true bargains when taking the optical performance and build quality into consideration.
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By golly, it's Jupiter

50D, 400/5.6, 1.4x

Well, this represents about 1/30th or so of the original frame. Even 560mm on a crop body doesn't get you very far! Still, amazed that I managed to get a planet...

The moon showed up too, though it's a little too "new" still.
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Yashica F521 flickr group

Be sure to visit the flickr group dedicated to this great little toy camera. It's slowly growing and people are posting some great shots!

The discussion area is worth a visit too, with a fair bit of interesting chatter about the camera and its potential.
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Some more vignetting tests

It looks like the vignetting mod is even better than I expected... see within.

Take a look at this crop from the edge of the above. The rocks continue all the way to the edge but see how they get all smeared into oblivion? I didn't quite expect that, but it looks like the vignetting mod has caused some optical issues as well -- bonus!


More images... macro seems mostly unaffected.



Again, look at the (lack of) detail in the lower left. Definitely getting somewhere.



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